Tag: Illinois House

House Speaker Mike Madigan got his big income tax increase through the House, but what now, Speaker Mike? Aside from any question of whether it will survive a promised veto by Gov. Bruce Rauner, what comes next? By wide agreement, this income tax increase will not dig into Illinois’ huge debt–the billions and billions owed... Read more »

The reporting on the Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s bogus budget passed on Friday by the House doesn’t seem to emphasize what needs to be emphasized: It is $5 billion out of whack. A $5 billion deficit violates the Illinois constitution’s requirement for a balanced budget. It does nothing to get the bond ratings services... Read more »

Breaking News Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan is congratulating himself and the bipartisan legislators who voted for his budget today for their “good work.” (See updates from Capitol Fax.com) But what’s in the budget? Democrats are denouncing Republicans in the U.S. Senate for drafting their compromise health care reform “in secret.” So where were the... Read more »

It’s about time that someone did a documentary on Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, the pilot who drove the state of Illinois into a mountain. Now, the Illinois Policy Institute has done it. Check out this trailer: As the Institute notes: Illinois is one of only 14 states without term limits and this documentary highlights... Read more »

The first step to fixing what ails Illinois is to dump House Speaker Mike Madigan. The governance and labor reforms proposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner won’t do it until Madigan is removed from the speakership. Higher taxes won’t do it either. The finger of blame for the Illinois in-the-toilet condition points directly at Madigan–for all... Read more »

Jonathan Greenberg is a Republican running in the north suburban Illinois House 57th district against Democratic incumbent Elaine Nekritz. Greenberg, like Nekritz is pro-choice–which you probably have to be to get elected in this district. So, imagine my surprise when a campaign flier arrived trying to associate Greenberg with “anti-choice Springfield Republicans.” Says the flier:... Read more »

Repeal the Illinois constitution’s provision that guarantees the fat pensions for state public employees. The provision, Article XIII, Section 5, of the constitution says: Membership in any pension or retirement system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of... Read more »